“Essence of Time” unit in Donbass. Koba: New Year on Maidan in 2013-2014

I wanted to write about my stay in Ukraine for a long time now, but never found the time. I think it’s time. In the end, I had to become a part of this story – a story important, I think, not for me alone.

Everything started, like for many other “Essence of Time” members, from tracking the situation on Kiev maidan. I, like many others, study in the School of “Essence of Time”, and theoretically we know a lot about all sorts of non-lethal types of warfare. It’s good to know the theory, but practice is practice, it is, as everybody knows, the standard of truth! Which is why I was double-interested in the Ukrainian events. Interested as a citizen – and as a person who tries to understand the meaning of what was going on: how such social projects are being made, what are their mechanisms, the behavior of the population. In other words, I was watching everything as a questioning observer. Out of all post-Soviet republics, Ukraine is closest to me (apart from Russia, of course). I lived there for many years, I have many friends and acquaintances there. This is why it was such a shame that the people of Ukraine became victims of a giant experiment, both social and psychological. People were not just tricked, they were put under absolute control. Many were driven mad.

I was watching them jumping on maidan online and on television and in the end I couldn’t stand this any more – I went to Kiev to see this for myself. To feel, to say so, this energy, to see everything for myself.

I entered the New Year 2014 on the maidan, surrounded by people singing the anthem of Ukraine. The air on the maidan was impressive. Apart from the air and the powerful energy around it, the organization of maidan itself was interesting – how it all worked, how the whole territory was clearly divided into sectors, how well the supply of food and other necessary things was organized. It was clear that hundreds, sometimes tens of thousands of people are there. There was no spontaneity there at all. Everything was accurately directed. It was a large ant hill, or, rather, a “humant hill”, where everyone knew their place and did their thing. The “instigators” were working as a team, some events constantly happened on the scene, the music was playing. Maidan was a certain act. It was quiet during the day, a bit sleepy, but closer to the evening it came to life. Everything reminded me of a strange carnival. There were both their “harlequins” and their “pinocchios” seeking happiness on this “field of wonders”. There were people of all kinds on the maidan: tourists, local freaks, students, senior citizens, hobos, Nazi youth in camo clothes – in other words, two of every kind, the arc, trying to leave the hated Soviet Union towards the “free world”.

Video above: Maidan 2014

On the New Year’s night I met the famous trio on the maidan: Klitschko, Yatsenyuk and Tyagnibok. They were walking in the crowd, surrounded by their fans and guards. They were the main actors of this carnival. The faces from the scene. Tyagnibok seemed to be the smartest of the three. He was always as if aside from the other two, but it was visible that he is the master here and the protagonist. He viewed the other two as an unfortunate trouble, which he plans to solve in time. Every evening there were many singers here, maidan was constantly having fun and training. At the same time, it could be seen that those who were training were always away from the others, they were a kind of maidan guard, its “hundreds” that later became infamous. But back then everything was fun – songs, dances, laughter. It could be seen that those who were exercising are discontent with this fun. Here and there talks could have been heard that something has to be done, that this circus is annoying, that Yanukovich is making clowns out of them. I, to be honest, also thought that everything will be over by slowly turning into a farce, that people will get tired and will start to leave.

“Kiev local ‘Svoboda’ organization”, “To the revolution”. Notice the black and red Bandera Nazi flag near the Ukrainian flag in the background. Maidan, 2013.

Maidan, 2013.

The sign reads: “Freedom in Ukraine or death in emigration”. Maidan, 2013.

Maidan, 2013.

But then I bumped into someone and it made me see everything in a different light. To get to the maidan, one had to go through the improvised gates. I liked to stand near these gates and watch the people who were going back and forth. And somehow noticed the guys with arm bands. Some had hats, like the ones Bandera Nazis wore during the war. Then a sturdy man in camo approached them. He had no arm bands, but his behavior made it clear that he’s in charge here. It was Sashko the White*, I noticed him because I saw pictures of him online not long before. I was watching him for some time, there was something real about him, decisive, so contrasting with the carnival of the maidan. He was meeting the revolutionary trio of the maidan during their visit back on that New Year’s night.

*Editor’s note: Sashko the White (Sashko Bily, real name – Aleksandr Muzychko) was the Chair of Bandera Nazi organization UNA-UNSO in Rovno region of Ukraine and the coordinator of “Right Sector” in Western Ukraine. In 1994 he fought alongside Chechen militants and terrorists against Russia during the first Chechen war. He was accused by the Investigative Committee of Russia of torturing and murdering at least 20 Russian soldiers in January 1995.

Days after the coup d’etat in Ukraine in 2014, on February 25, he arrived to the Rovno region Council meeting with an assault rifle.

On February 27, 2014, he beat the prosecutor of Rovno region in his office on cameras of Ukrainian channels.

Aleksandr Muzychko hits the prosecutor after being interrupted by him. February 27, 2014. Photo by Ukrainian media

Aleksandr Muzychko pushes the prosecutor back to his seat when the latter tries to get up. February 27, 2014. Photo by Ukrainian media

Several days after, Aleksandr Muzychko, along with certain “Right Sector” members, was accused by the Kiev junta of racketeering not only businesses, but also of racketeering police and local administration representatives. A month after the coup d’etat, on March 24, 2014, Aleksandr Muzychko was shot dead by his former maidan accomplices who now took control over the Interior Ministry of Ukraine. With him dead, it became much easier for the Kiev junta to hide its true criminal and fascist face.

Many times after that I thought: what if a small group of “specialists” would have happened to come to Kiev back then? Everything could have ended back then, there wouldn’t have been this nightmare that started in February. But history knows no “ifs”. Out of all the possible paths of its historical fate Ukraine chose blood. And it chose it not only for itself, but for all of us. For all of those who now have to take arms, to die, to lose loved ones. Could I have imagined back then that a war will start in just a couple of months and I will become among the defenders of Donbass? No, I couldn’t have imagined that. It was snowing, Kiev was celebrating the year 2014. Those ten days I spent in Kiev made me a witness of the beginning of a bloody act, one of the participants of which I soon became.